PHOTOS: Fingerpickin' good at the Joe Val Bluegrass Fest

Saturday

Feb 17, 2018 at 4:17 PMFeb 17, 2018 at 4:17 PM

FRAMINGHAM - The 33rd Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, which continues Saturday and Sunday at the Framingham Sheraton, has a full slate of performances on two stages, more than 60 workshops and education programs and a hotel full of rockin' bluegrass, country, rock and genre-bending music.

Highlights included performances from Hot Rize, dropping in as part of their 40th anniversary tour. This is a rare area appearance from the band that served as a gateway to bluegrass for many music fans from other genres. Their alter egos, Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers were rumored to also be on hand. Their performance closes out the Festival on Sunday.

On Friday, the festival welcomed back an old friend in David Davis and the Warrior River Boys from Alabama. He’s a great singer, expressive mandolin player, and his band has a classic, hard-driving bluegrass sound.

The sound of the Portland, Oregon’s Foghorn Stringband could have come barreling through the grille-cloth of those big console radios in the living rooms of the 1950s, when the traditional sounds of rural America were still on the minds of young musicians transferring the old-time music to a distinctively modern age. Their tight instrumental work is reminiscent of early bluegrass, but their powerful approach is whole-heartedly authentic old-time.

The festival is presented by the Boston Bluegrass Union, which takes its education mission to heart as the festival hosts more than 70 workshops and education programs throughout the weekend. These range from intimate performances or hands on sessions with main stage artists. Highlights included Early Days of the Country Gentlemen with Bluegrass Hall of Fame members Eddie Adcock and Tom Gray, and Brother Duets with the Gibson Brothers.

Single day and weekend tickets can be purchased at the door. For ticket prices and schedule, visit http://www.bbu.org/events/joe-val-festival/